Bill Gates warns six to 10 weeks of total isolation ‘is the best case scenario’ for the U.S. and says you can’t ‘ignore the pile of bodies in the corner’ and return to normal
- Microsoft founder said there ‘really is no middle ground’ in stopping the virus
- But he acknowledged shutdowns will be ‘disastrous’ for the economy
- ‘It’s very tough to say to people, “Hey keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner”, Gates said Tuesday
- He said the US ‘did not act fast enough to have an ability to avoid the shutdown’
- President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is hoping the United States will be reopened by Easter contradicting the warnings of some public health officials
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Bill Gates on Tuesday said that six to ten weeks of total isolation is the best case scenario for the United States, warning you cannot return to normal too soon and ‘then ignore the pile of bodies in the corner’.
The Microsoft founder said in a virtual Ted interview there ‘really is no middle ground’ when it comes to stopping the spread of coronavirus while acknowledging shutdowns will be ‘disastrous’ for the economy.
He warned: ‘It’s very tough to say to people, “Hey keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner, we want you to keep spending because there’s some politician that thinks GDP growth is what counts”.
‘It’s hard to tell people during an epidemic that they should go about things knowing their activity is spreading this disease.’
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is hoping the United States will be reopened by Easter contradicting the warnings of some public health officials.
Health experts have made clear that unless Americans continue to dramatically limit social interaction — staying home from work and isolating themselves — the number of infections will overwhelm the health care system, as it has in parts of Italy, leading to many more deaths.
Bill Gates said six to ten weeks of total isolation is the best case scenario for the United States, warning you cannot return to normal too soon and ‘then ignore the pile of bodies in the corner’
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is hoping the United States will be reopened by Easter contradicting the warnings of some public health officials
Gates — who recently announced his plans to leave the board of Microsoft — is also known for his philanthropic work, including in the area of global health.
He said Tuesday the US ‘did not act fast enough to have an ability to avoid the shutdown’, adding: ‘The U.S. is past this opportunity to control (COVID-19) without shutdown. It’s January when everybody should’ve been on notice.’
Gates last week urged everyone to ‘stay calm’ during the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead of lasting 18 months until a vaccine can be developed, the present crisis may only last six to 10 weeks in some countries, the businessman added.
He had shared his thoughts on the coronavirus crisis during an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on Reddit on March 18, 2020.
‘We do need to stay calm, even though this is an unprecedented situation,’ Mr Gates wrote in response to a question about what people can do to help during the crisis.
‘A big thing is to go along with the “shut down” approach in your community so that the infection rate drops dramatically to let us go back to normal as soon as possible.’
‘I worry about all the economic damage,’ Mr Gates wrote, noting that wealthy countries here being hit hard at present and would only be able to begin the process of economic recovery after infection rates have been brought under control.
‘Even worse will be how this will affect the developing countries who cannot do the social distancing the same way as rich countries and whose hospital capacity is much lower.’
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